Trouble Staying Asleep? Waking Up Frequently? You May Have Sleep Maintenance Insomnia...

Sleep maintenance insomnia is a common, irritating sleep pattern that
affects millions of people. Its simple definition is this: when a person
wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.

It usually affects people as they age, when they hit around 40 and
beyond.

Mary Berg, 53, is a typical case. She has no problem falling
asleep. What's driving her nuts is that she can't stay asleep for a full
seven or eight hours. After about four hours asleep, she abruptly wakes
up.

When she does, she usually starts thinking about something
worrisome-bills, kids, work...you name it. And then she can't get back
to sleep for one, two, sometimes three hours.

Mary says, "It's tough. I have a lot on my plate every day. But I find with my poor sleep most nights, waking up and fighting to get back to sleep, I'm always tired the next day. I feel like the walking dead. It definitely affects how I function."

Sound familiar? If so, you probably also suffer from sleep maintenance insomnia, which is also called sleep-interruption insomnia by sleep doctors.

5 Symptoms of Sleep Maintenance Insomnia

The sleep patterns of this type of insomnia include the following insomnia symptoms:

Sleeping only a few hours, then waking up

Waking up suddenly, and being unable to fall back asleep

An in between state where one feels half awake while sleeping

Waking up too early, and being unable to get back to sleep (this crosses over into what is known as early-morning awakening)

Waking up briefly, but frequently, throughout the night

5 Sleep Maintenance Insomnia Causes

Stress and anxiety play a big role for this insomnia cause. People
will often jolt awake, thinking about their problems. They stew over
worries and can often experience anxiety attacks in the middle of the
night.

Menopause and insomnia go hand in hand for thousands of
women, as does perimenopause and insomnia. Many women are able to sleep
better when they get a better control on their hot flashes.

Booze. Alcohol is one of the big insomnia causes. What
happens is that initially the alcohol will fairly quickly put a person
to sleep. But as the beer, wine, or hard liquor wears off, that person's
consciousness will drift to the surface and they wake up.

Medical issues. Chronic pain—especially back pain or
arthritis—asthma, sleepapnea, snoring from a partner, and restless legs
syndrome can all lead to trouble staying asleep.

What to do if your
partner’s
snoring is waking you up

Perhaps nothing is more annoying than constantly waking up
in the middle of the night because of snoring.

Why do people snore? If you’ve read my articles on snoring
and sleep apnea, you know that the tongue is one of the reasons why.

It can block the throat, making breathing more difficult and
snoring sounds more common.

A dentist and sleep researcher invented a funny looking
plastic device that prevents the tongue from blocking the airway. This is one
of the best anti snore devices on the market.

It’s called The Good Morning Snore Solution. Their website
is very informative and demonstrates exactly how this snore remedy works. Click
here to watch the video.

Quick note about arthritis

If joint pain is causing your sleep maintenance insomnia,
here's a natural arthritis formula
that may help you get relief from pain, swelling, stiffness, and
inflammation. Surprisingly, customers report it also gives them better
skin and a sense of wellbeing. (Link opens in a new window.)

Be sure to read the customer comments tab. Also note this product
is not suitable for most vegetarians because it does contain ingredient
extracts that come from shellfish.

What Can Be Done AboutSleep Maintenance Insomnia?

Here are some quick insomnia tips.

If anxiety is the problem, one thing you can do is a brain dump.
Take a piece of paper and pen and write down everything that's on your
mind. Pour it out! This one works well for me when my mind gets
cluttered and I start to get uptight about all the things I need to do.
See if it helps you too.

Finish reading a novel or magazine.

Just remember, if you have sleep maintenance insomnia, when you
do pop awake, think BORING. Your goal is to get sleepy. Instead of
worrying, consider what you can do to bore yourself back to sleep.

Once you click that blue link and read about the sleep
supplement, click also on the tab that says Health Concerns. Look for
the insomnia link. You'll learn a lot at that website that can really
help you out, whether it's depression, anxiety, or pain that's causing
your sleep maintenance insomnia.

Also, in my newsletter, Sleep Chat, I've written a detailed article about a technique called Stimulus Control Instructions.